Queen Elizabeth Actually ‘Worried’ About This After Princess Diana, Prince Charles Separation

Their separation and divorce was perhaps one of the biggest scandals to rock the royal family, but as Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ marital woes played out, Queen Elizabeth reportedly only expressed concern about one particular issue.

According to Andrew Morton in the 2011 biography “William and Catherine,” Queen Elizabeth had only one thing on her mind when it came to the fact that Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ marriage was falling apart, and she made her issues with the impending separation known to her daughter-in-law when she approached her about it.

“When Diana discussed the impending separation with the Queen, the boys’ grandmother spoke for many when she told the princess that the welfare of their grandchildren came first,” he wrote. “The Queen reportedly said: ‘My concern is only that those children have been the battleground of a marriage that has broken down.’”

The quotes, which came from former royal butler Paul Burrell, also included the Queen informing Diana that even if she was no longer a member of the royal family after her marriage ended, she would always be a part of the family because of her children.

“Whatever may transpire in the future, nothing will change the fact that you are the mother of both William and Harry,” she reportedly said.

Of course, even with the concern for the two, it didn’t stop the divorce from playing out in a rather nasty manner, and it took four years for the divorce to be finalized after their initial separation. Unfortunately, the Queen’s concern for her grandsons was forced to take a different form just one year after the divorce, after their mother’s tragic death in a Paris car accident.

Though the Queen’s public silence after Diana’s death was criticized because many thought she wasn’t being sensitive to the situation, she later admitted to a friend that she was primarily concerned with how William and Harry were handling their mother’s death.

“She was being a proper granny. What was the point of bringing the boys down to sit in London with nothing to do but sit there feeling sad about mum? Margaret Rhodes, the queen’s cousin, told CNN in 2012. “Personally, I think I would have behaved in the same way.”